


A Single Ray of Sunlight

by wildlings



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Harry Potter Setting, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Post-Hogwarts
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-20
Updated: 2019-08-13
Packaged: 2020-07-09 09:33:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,508
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19885432
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wildlings/pseuds/wildlings
Summary: Doyoung, a 26 year old Cursebreaker, returns home under less than ideal circumstances and tries to pull his life back together.





	1. One.

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: In this HPverse, there are wizarding uni’s that students can go to in order to further their studies in specific fields. In areas of medicine, potions, Dark Arts, herbology, etc. you can learn more and become specialised. In the same way that doctors have to go to med school, Healers also have to study a variety of fields before attending their own form of med school. Wizarding Uni isn’t as long as it is in real life just because. Also, most students take gap years before Uni and before grad school because everything is more chill in the wizarding world like that. Sorry if this is confusing! Don’t hesitate to ask questions if you have any.
> 
> Hogwarts is 7 years. Uni undergrad is 3 years. If you want your “masters/doctorate” equivalent it’s 1-3 years, depending. Med school is the additional 3 years on top of the initial 3 years of “undergrad”. 
> 
> Doyoung is 26, everyone else is aged up in reference to that!

It’s midday and he’s walking down an isolated alley in the back of Knockturn Alley when the screech of an owl has him pause in his stride as it drops a letter into his hands. He barely gets a moment to realise it’s a Howler before it starts to emit steam in his hands and then tears from his grasp to float in front of his face.

“ _KIM DOYOUNG,”_ it starts, in the familiar cadence of one of his best friends, _“HOW DARE YOU NOT TELL ME YOU’VE RETURNED TO ENGLAND—!”_ Doyoung waves his hand and the Howler explodes before it has a chance to continue and he sighs.

He hasn’t told anyone he’s back because he hasn’t wanted to share the _circumstances_ of why he was back. But his plan to keep low-key clearly hasn’t worked out. He realises it was futile, but part of him wishes it could have been quiet just a bit longer.

By the time he makes it back to his flat, Taeyong’s already inside and pacing, hands on his hips and glaring accusingly at Doyoung.

“You didn’t even listen to my Howler!”

Doyoung sets his keys down on the foyer table before toeing off his shoes and setting them down on the shelf, not bothering to give Taeyong any attention yet.

“When were you planning on telling me you were back? My own best friend!” Taeyong harrumphed, and paused his treading directly in Doyoung’s path. “When were you going to tell me about Johnny?” His voice was quiet, then.

With a sigh, Doyoung took a step forward and opened his arms for Taeyong who didn’t need a minute before he was tucked into the crook of Doyoung’s neck, soaking hot tears into the collar of Doyoung’s leather jacket.

“I really missed you, Taeyong. And I’m sorry.”

__

Taeyong’s taken the liberty of helping Doyoung settle in for his stay in London. He’s spent the last week sighing through unpacking what Doyoung had stored into boxes and uncovering the furniture Doyoung had packed up before he’d left almost a year and a half prior.

After Taeyong lets out another deep sigh Doyoung drops himself on the couch beside him.

“We can go and see Johnny, you know.”

It’s clearly been bothering Taeyong, even without him being so obvious, Doyoung still would have known.

“I don’t think you’re allowed to, honestly.” Taeyong answers him, quietly, continuing to fold a linen in his hands, not looking up at Doyoung.

“Ah. Right.” Doyoung’s jaw works for a moment before he tries to best to shrug nonchalantly, for Taeyong. “I can still take you.”

“I should just take you to campus, honestly, so you can get accustomed before the semester begins.” At that, Doyoung groans and stands once again, Taeyong finally looking up to follow his path as he works his way into the kitchen.

“Must I? You couldn’t have talked them out of making me teach there, I could have just gone back to research.” Taeyong stood to follow him, stretching his limbs before slowly making his way to fill the kettle and place it on the stove.

“It puts you into their favour and good graces, so I pushed for it, actually. It may seem like you’re under their thumb because of it, but I was trying to make sure you would be safe.”

Doyoung leans back until his hip is supported by the counter behind him and runs a hand down his face.

“Everything is so fucked up, Taeyong.”

Taeyong tries his best to give him an optimistic smile, crossing his arms to wait for the kettle to boil, “Then let’s unfuck it up.”

__

They’ve assigned Doyoung a TA, which is fortunate, because Doyoung isn’t good at the whole paperwork aspect that comes along with being a professor. Taeyong gave a rundown on the graduate level student, insisting that he hand picked him to assist Doyoung, so they should work well together.

Dejun is small but sturdy, quick on his feet, and smart as a whip. He comes into Doyoung’s office, arms filled with books, glasses askew, and dumps the lot in front of Doyoung who’s sat with his feet propped up on the desk as he fiddles with his muggle phone. Doyoung doesn’t even need to confirm who he is, and it seems Dejun is the same,

“I’m glad you came early. Let’s go over your syllabus.”

Doyoung raises a brow and lets his feet drop to the ground and then smiles.

“You think I’ve come unprepared.”

He shouldn’t be surprised, given his reputation, but he is nonetheless. Dejun doesn’t seem bothered though.

“I prepared in case you didn’t, actually, but I’ve also heard Professor Taeyong talk about you enough. I still erred on the side of caution.”

“Well, that’s useful.” Doyoung stands, then, peruses his carrier bag for a bundle of papers, and hands them to the shorter man. “It’s a combination of what I studied and what I learned in the field mixed with more methodology Taeyong insisted I tried to work into there. They’re concerned with safety, of course, so I put a focus on preventive and defensive methodology for the first third for the semester.”

Dejun lets a smile tug on the corner of his lip as he flips through the pages. “It’s thorough.” Doyoung watches his brows furrow for a moment before he returns to his levelled indifference.

Once he’s finished, he hands the papers back to Doyoung and nods, “It’s better than mine, so we’re set for this course. I can prepare the room before you arrive and help sort through assignments.” He hesitates before he continues, as though he doesn’t want to say it, but can’t help himself. “My previous professors used me more as a personal assistant rather than with the courses… so I’m rounded in whatever assistance you might require.”

Doyoung doesn’t know what to say to that, so he just nods, gears turning in his head. When he looks at the clock on his phone screen it shows they still have over a half hour before he’s got to meet the Dean’s. He motions to the pile of books that are stacked on the desk.

“You didn’t plan on having me teach out of _all_ of these, did you?”

Dejun snaps to attention and rapidly shakes his head, “Oh, no, of course not. I’ve actually bookmarked selections from them all, but looking at the syllabus, I know what to eliminate from this course. If you show me what you’ve put together for the advanced course, I can also find supplementary readings in the library for that too.” He’s almost out of breath by the time he stops, and he looks sheepish when he catches that he’s rambled a bit.

“Good. That’ll be useful. The supplementary reading can help prepare for field work.”

The furrowed brows return, and Dejun looks at him questioningly.

“Will we be allowed excursions?” There’s another question in there too.

Once again, Doyoung finds himself surprised by the younger student. “I’ll have to speak to Taeyong, but if they expect me to teach an advanced course, we ought to be allowed field experience. It’ll be under supervision and you’ll be there too, so I don’t think it’ll be too much of a problem.”

Doyoung is impressed, really, at how easy it is to communicate with Dejun. He can see why Taeyong assigned them to each other.

“I look forward to the semester, Professor.”

Doyoung fixes him with an easy grin, “Doyoung. Just call me Doyoung.”

“Oh, well, in that case…”

__

Two weeks later, Doyoung enter the classroom once more, dressed in all black like his students. Except where they’re all in neatly pressed robes for the first day of classes, he’s in his favourite leather jacket and an old Led Zeppelin t-shirt. Upon Taeyong’s insistence, he’s worn pressed trousers instead of his favourite jeans.

Dejun is standing to the end of the room, having been taking attendance as students filtered in. Doyoung makes his way to the center of the room and gives Dejun a curt nod waiting for the students chatter to die down before he begins.

“Good morning, class. My name is Professor Kim Doyoung, we’ll be assisted by Xiaojun,” He motions to the shorter man who’s stepped just a bit closer for introductions.

“Welcome to The Theory and Methodology of Ancient Spells. Or what most of you know as Cursebreaking 101.”


	2. Two.

Xiaojun is collecting scrolls of parchment from the students as they exit the room, leaving Doyoung to review the proposal they’d been working on for the last week. He thinks they should spend more time on it, but he knows that having Xiaojun look over what he’d come up with and incorporate his own insight was worth the same as an additional few days of review.

He knows what he wants to do, thinks it’s easy enough to do, but there’s doubt at the back of his mind because he knows that _he’s_ the factor that would hold the proposal back.

It doesn’t help, knowing that he has Taeyong on his side. It doesn’t even help that he thinks he has the headmaster on his side. Because the decision needs a majority rule and they only count for two. There are four other deans he has to convince, and Doyoung doesn’t feel extremely confident in his ability to charm.

He’s been teaching his two courses a little over two weeks, spending his time in a large lecture hall for his intro course and in a smaller setting for the advanced class.

It’s only when he hears Xiaojun _stop_ shuffling with his papers that he deigns to look up.

The class hasn’t emptied yet, but there’s a tiny head sticking into the doorway that’s waving at Doyoung from the distance.

Taeyong manages to slip into the room, going against the flow of traffic, and he seems to be pulsing with energy as he bounces his way down to Doyoung.

“Do! Young!” He finally lands in front of the desk. “We have to go!”

Doyoung only raises an eyebrow, and Taeyong calms himself down just slightly enough to say: “You’re allowed to see Johnny now.” And Doyoung is up, blinking, and too caught up in Taeyong’s words to _actually_ get moving.

“Hustle! Hustle!” Taeyong motions for him to pack up, which spurs him into moving, and he glances over to Xiaojun before closing his bag.

“I’ll finish up in here, don’t worry. I hope the visit goes well.” He nods to Doyoung, who breathes out with a hint of nervousness.

“Alright, Yong, let’s go.”

__

St. Mungos is a crowded place, different from muggle hospitals, but still giving off the exact same feeling. Doyoung, like most others, has never been fond of hospitals. He still prefers it to the Ministry, but today he’s not sure.

Taeyong’s been chatting about the state that Johnny’s in and his health since they returned from Cartagena — this is Doyoung’s first time being allowed to see him since then.

Instead of listening intently, though, Doyoung feels like he’s hearing everything underwater, like it’s partially muted and distorted and he can’t make out every word. His blood is thrumming in his ears, and when he sees two guards outside the door he realises he hasn’t felt this off-footed since he was in his second year of Hogwarts, a child.

“You can go in first,” Taeyong gently prods him to the door, and nods.

He’s nervous, but he’s never been a coward. Doyoung opens the door and steps through, and he’s not alone.

Standing at Johnny’s bedside is a short woman, hair tied in a bun atop her head, long coat down to her calves, stroking Johnny’s face. Doyoung can’t see her expression — her back is to him, but he knows it’s full of love and fondness.

He finds his voice — “Mrs. Suh.”

She strokes through the soft brown of Johnny’s hair once more before she turns, just slightly, and Doyoung moves slowly to her side.

Mrs. Suh. She’s as tiny as he remembers, dressed in all black, and she should be severe given her status, but she exudes warmth. Or maybe the warmth is from so many years of knowing her — of _relying_ on her. He’s unsure. At the moment, his throat is in his chest. So many people to disappoint, but he doesn’t want her to think less of him.

“Doyoung,” she looks up at him when he’s finally beside her, and turns fully so they’re face to face. “I’m so glad you’re okay.” And she’s hold him, arms wrapping tightly around his waist and pulling him close. He almost chokes in relief.

“How are you?” She runs her hand soothingly down his spine, once, twice, and finally pulls away to read his expression when she asks her question.

“I’m as well as I can be.” He risks a glance over to Johnny, sleeping silently on the bed. “I’m so sorry.” He tries to speak levelly, but his voice stumbles anyway over the words.

“Look,” and she grasps both of his hands in hers and tugs just slightly so he looks down at her. “I know this wasn’t your fault, Doyoung, and I know you would have done whatever you could to prevent it. I know you. And Johnny and I both love you, so, _so_ much. This is going to be fine.”

And he lets out a deep breath, maybe in relief, maybe for the first time since he returned.

“The ministry… they’re conducting a full-scale investigation. It doesn’t seem like they’re trying to find out what happened, but rather that they’re trying to see if they can implicate you.” She continues to hold one of his hands as she turns back to Johnny, slipping her free hand in his.

“You took the job at the University, yes?” He nods, but she already knows. “Good. You know they’re using it as a form of house arrest, correct?” When he nods once again, she nods too, letting out a sigh.

“Take someone with you when they call you to the Wizengamot. I know how it makes you feel.” She turns to him once again. “I’ll do my best to make sure they know you weren’t involved in this, but please—.” She squeezes her eyes shut, and Doyoung knows she’s trying not to let her emotions overtake her. “Do whatever you can to make sure he comes back to us.” She speaks in a near whisper.

When she finally releases his hand, she’s partway to the door, and in a minute, she’s gone. He’s left alone with Johnny and his thoughts.

Johnny looks much the same as when they had last seen each other, from a distance. Up close Doyoung can see the bruising across his right cheek, lips, and hands. Whatever else is scarring is covered under the crisp hospital sheets. He wishes more than ever he could just speak to Johnny, because they worked best _together_ rather than independently.

It was why they were partners, why they had their own team, and why they should have been together when everything fell apart.

“John.” He takes a seat, looks at Johnny’s battered hand and hesitates. “I didn’t do this… but I still feel responsible.” He whispers, lump in his throat. He allows himself to take Johnny’s hand into his own.

Part of him wonders if Johnny can hear him. He knows he’s been put under a magical suspension, but he wonders if he can still be aware of what’s happening outside of his consciousness. Doyoung doesn’t allow himself to cry, regardless.

“I’m sorry I let this happen to you.”

The door slides open again, this time to let someone in.

Doyoung takes a measured breath. “You let me be ambushed.” There’s no bite in his words, but resignation.

“You both needed it. And she was the one who pushed for you to be allowed here.” Taeyong rests a hand on Doyoung’s shoulder and gives him a half-smile. “I know you admire her and you don’t want her opinion of you to be anything less than ideal… but you needed this. And it’s not my place... to get involved. I only know what you both deem me privy to, you know.”

Doyoung turns to meet Taeyong’s half smile, guilty. He had barely given any thought to how much Taeyong knew, despite monopolising so much of his time since he’d returned.

“Yong… I’m sorry.”

Taeyong shakes his head immediately. “It’s okay. I know it’s been hard.”

“I just… I told you everything was fucked up? Taeyong, I fucked it up. I didn’t do this to Johnny, but I’m the reason he’s here. He shouldn’t have been there alone. Whatever occurred… a curse or a spell or whatever kind of magic, whatever happened there — I should have been there.” Doyoung rattles off, his voice progressively getting louder, but Taeyong puts pressure on where he’s holding Doyoung’s shoulder.

“Johnny’s actions, Doyoung, are his own. You can’t take his agency or his culpability away from him. He’s here because he made a mistake, and we’re all going to do our best to make sure he can wake up from this.”

How Taeyong manages to be so calm despite the circumstances, Doyoung can’t understand. But Taeyong wasn’t there, in Cartagena. He didn’t see how Johnny was somehow in the middle of whatever magical blast had occurred and scattered half of the ruined structure they had been operating in, nor how, when Doyoung had finally found him in a panic, shoving aside rubble, the fear in Johnny’s eyes when he gasped for air before going still scared the life out of Doyoung. No one else did, but Doyoung. The rest of the team had arrived after him.

He wishes once again that he could speak to Johnny. Thinks about if a skilled legilimens could open Johnny’s mind in this state and ask him _why_ he would go to a site, alone, and without telling anyone. What was he looking for? What had he found?

Doyoung has more questions than answers, but he still feels a featherweight lighter after seeing Johnny, at last.

After a moment more of shared silence, Doyoung stands. “I’ll leave you two, now. I have to see Xiaojun to finalize the proposal.”

He looks at Taeyong, who’s only looking at Johnny with an expression Doyoung doesn’t quite know, but makes him feel something like hollowness in his chest.

“Take care of him.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I deeply appreciate everyone who has taken the time to read this story. I'm slowly re-learning how to write again and so I do apologise for any weird or confusing parts of the story. Over time, things may become clearer. Thank you, again. Please feel free to leave a comment or question or anything!  
> ❤️


	3. Three.

Autumn brings with it a bitter chill that permeates through each layer that Doyoung wears; even under the insulated leather jacket and the blue cable knit sweater Johnny had gotten for him Christmas past. The chill feels good to Doyoung, though. It keeps him alert and aware. It’s a change, too, from what he was used to — they had just returned from a year in the warm tropical region in South America.

British people, Doyoung is not too pleased to recall, are not as expressive as South Americans.

As he walks through the crowded streets of London, he’s met with exceptional manners and propriety, but the lack of warmth and colour still leaves him feeling off-kilter. It’s been two months since he returned to England earlier than he meant to, but something about his homecoming not being it on his own terms leaves him feeling adrift.

He’s standing at a crosswalk, waiting for his company to arrive, watching the shuffling crowd filled with students and workers headed in each and every direction. The colours are all the same too — black, white, various shades of tan and beige, but not much colour.

The entry to the Ministry is situated not far from the centre of Muggle London. Doyoung checks his phone for the time once again, finds that he’s still earlier than the designated meet-up hour, and decides not to be impatient about it.

When he looks up again, he notices a spot of colour in contrast to the monotonous crowd, a head of pale lavender across the road, hair periodically bouncing its way through. He can’t make out any features, from the distance, but the further the figure gets the more his eye is drawn to it, until it’s almost too far for him to make out. At the last second, he thinks he sees the figure turn and is met is wide circle frames and blinking eyes before he’s lost the man in the crowd once more.

“Do-hyung!” He’s spared from searching more when a pair of hands claps the back of his shoulders. Jeno and Renjun stand beside him on the busy street.

“I hear there’s an inquiry from the ministry we’re to accompany you for.”

Doyoung stares blankly at them for a minute. Jeno good-naturedly rubs a hand up and down his arm. “Taeyong couldn’t come. The headmaster had to call him in for something with the Ministry.” Jeno gives him a half grimace, half smile.

“He didn’t want you to go alone, and we were free. Jeno volunteered us.”

“I volunteered me, at least.” His smile is so bright, Doyoung can’t even muster a sigh. He’s grateful, despite his plans having a wrench thrown in them. It would be too odd, he thinks, to walk into the Ministry for the questioning with children. But years have passed, the kids are taller than him, now, except for Renjun. They’re no longer aimless teenagers. He doesn’t shoo them away like his brain immediately tells him to, but instead nods.

“We’ve got to go, then. I’ll give you a chance to tell me what I’ve missed since we’ve been gone. Has Taeyong dated anyone new since I’ve left? Does Hyuck still behave like a five-year-old?”

He hopes Renjun will bite and go off on a tangent around one of the topics he’s supplied. Instead, Jeno points down to his phone. “But hyung, what’s that?”

“Muggle ingenuity. Be good and I’ll let you play later.”

Doyoung slings an arm around Jeno’s shoulder, who in turn grabs Renjun’s wrist, dragging him down the road to the awaiting telephone booth that doubles as a visitor’s entrance to the Ministry.

He’s grateful, he realizes, to have so many people willing to be with him. Even in times like now.

__

“It went well.”

Renjun supplies Taeyong with this information as he strides into the sparse flat and perches on the arm of the sofa that Jeno and Renjun are sat at.

“Oh?” He can’t hold back the tone of surprise, looking around for Doyoung.

“He didn’t let us sit in with him, but when he came out he was calm — in a good way. It makes me more nervous, though.” Jeno fills Taeyong in. It wasn’t a waste to go, Doyoung seemed anchored by them just being around when he was taken in for the inquiry, but they hadn’t taken him to the trial room. Taeyong had warned them ahead of time that the ministry might have tried to do the inquiry in there, as a scare tactic. Remembering made Jeno frown.

“He hasn’t left his room since we got back, though, but he allowed me to owl Hyuck to come over for dinner, so I think he’s in a well enough mood to cook.”

There’s a knock on the door, then, and Taeyong glances at the door and then to the pair on the couch. “There’s no way he’s that fast.”

“Get the door, it’s Xiaojun!” Doyoung calls out, muffled beyond his bedroom door. Taeyong hops up and makes his way to the door in quick strides, missing the questioning glance between Jeno and Renjun, and then the shrug.

Doyoung walks out of his room, tugging down a fresh white tee over his jeans as he tries to meet the door in time to greet Xiaojun as well.

“Oh, hi, Professor Taeyong.” Xiaojun blinks owlishly and adjusts his glasses when Taeyong opens the door, beaming.

“Just Taeyong! Do come in. I didn’t know we were all meeting here.”

“ _We_ weren’t all meeting here. I invited Xiaojun because the kids were with me, and I figured I could make them all dinner to thank them for coming, you invited yourself.” Doyoung fixes Taeyong with a look.

“I would have been there, but the University knew that so they made up some arbitrary excuse to keep me in!” Taeyong pouts, but Doyoung shifts his attention to Xiaojun, who still hasn’t made a move to enter, and widens the space so he can.

Xiaojun hands a box of chocolates to Doyoung as he does, “Thank you for having me?” He meekly supplies.

Taeyong bustles back into the living space and has Jeno and Renjun stand and bow politely as Xiaojun enters.

“Renjun, Jeno, this is Xiaojun, my assistant at the University. Xiaojun, these are the kids.” Doyoung motions between them.

“We’re hardly _kids,_ hyung.” Jeno scoffs, but can’t help but smile and hold a hand out to shake. Xiaojun returns it with a timid but bright smile of his own and a firm shake. Renjun just stares for a minute, unable to form a sentence. “We were Taeyong’s students, but before Taeyong-hyung and I were in the same house at Hogwarts.” Jeno informs him.

“Twenty-two and graduated or not, you’ll always be the kids to me. Now, make yourselves comfortable while Taeyong and I make dinner.”

Doyoung catches Taeyong’s eye and motions for the kitchen, letting him know they have a lot to discuss.

__

The trial is meant to take place in the next month, but Doyoung and Taeyong haven’t made much progress towards his case. The whole situation is distracting him and stressing him out, but he doesn’t want to burden anyone else with his problems so he hasn’t reached out to anyone aside from Taeyong, who made the problem his own without having asked.

Doyoung’s allowed Xiaojun to do the closing of their lesson, today, a brief session that involved the students splitting into groups and solving a series of riddles and clues. It’s a fun lesson, something that Xiaojun had thought of himself, and it gives Doyoung reprieve from carrying on a lesson with everything going on in his head.

He feels bad, really, that he can’t focus right now, but the impending trial date has him on edge more than he’d like to be.

He doesn’t realize Xiaojun’s dismissed the class until he hears the tell-tale sound of chairs scraping against the floor and the creak of the doors. Normally he’d be held back from departure by a barrage of student’s intent of asking him questions about field, but when he looks up there’s only one person making their way towards his desk.

As he gets closer, ambling down the stairs of the lecture, Doyoung realises it’s not a student from his class — he’s memorized the lot of them by now, but he can’t place this man.

Plus, he has an air of confidence most of his students haven’t attained yet. Doyoung stands up to meet him.

He’s wearing a soft pink sweater that’s _just_ oversized enough that it covers the top of his jeans. Doyoung finds that he’s thankful it’s _not_ one of his students, before he realizes what he’s thinking and shakes the thought out of his head.

When he finally meets Doyoung in front, he realizes that the man is taller than him — not by much, but enough that he notices. His hair is sandy blonde, unstyled, and almost covering the rim of his glasses. Before he greets Doyoung he shakes his head a bit to get the hair out of his eyes.

“Kim Doyoung.” He starts with a smile, presenting a hand for a shake. “I’m Jung Jaehyun, I work between St. Mungo’s and the University, specialising in herbology and rare potions.” He pauses briefly, allowing Doyoung to take in what he’s said, shake his hand, and return it to his sides.

Doyoung resists crossing his arms, keeping his expression neutral.

“I’m actually working on the Suh John case, and I’d like to speak to you about it, if you have a minute.”

Doyoung can register this is not his student, these are questions unrelated to cursebreaking (somewhat), and this stranger may or may not help his case but _could_ help Johnny and with that information, Doyoung nods.

“Sure, we can talk in my office.”

Doyoung is grateful that when he looks back to Xiaojun, he’s already waving him out the door.

They walk together in silence, with Doyoung navigating the halls, until Doyoung turns back and halts his movements.

“Have we met before?” He can’t help but to ask, a sense of familiarity or déjà vu washing over him as he studies the features of Jaehyun’s face briefly before keying open the door he’d stopped in front of.

“No, I don’t think so. I would probably have remembered you.” Jaehyun offers him a smile, and Doyoung motions to a seat.

“Tea?” Doyoung sees Jaehyun hesitate before shaking his head, and knowing moves to make them both a cup before he settles.

“You were the first person to get to John when the blast occurred, right?”

Doyoung nods, once, looking down at his cup. He wonders how these series of events would have played out if he wasn’t the first one there. Or if he knew why Johnny was there in the first place. “Johnny, by the way. No one calls him John.” _Except for Taeyong,_ he thinks, _when he’s grousing at him._

Jaehyun nods, playing with the rim of the cup as the tea cools.

“Was there anything out of the ordinary you noticed, scents, colours, lingering haze or anything of the sort?”

Doyoung tries his best to think back. It’s been almost two months, at this point, and his memory is hazy. Doyoung extracted a copy of the memory in order to preserve it. He didn’t trust himself to remember it well enough over time, and he finds himself trusting this stranger easily, despite reason telling him it’s too quick to. He doesn’t _have_ a pensieve, but the school does, just as Hogwarts did. It’s a terrifying thought, allowing someone into his memories. Taeyong wouldn’t approve at all. He doesn’t mention it.

“As it stands, I don’t remember anything other than the scent of burning wood and the normal dust from the rubble. We’re used to that, the dustiness of ancient places, but…” Doyoung closes his eyes to try and recall the day, but his mind just gets stuck on Johnny, unmoving.

“There’s smoke from the fire, but around Johnny it’s not too thick. He was pinned under stone, and by the time I found him he had already lost consciousness, I couldn’t ask him what happened. The winds were whipping, too, I could tell a storm was in the air. Petrichor?” Doyoung pauses. “There was purple smoke.” Doyoung opens his eyes to find that Jaehyun’s put his cup down and has his eyes closed, arms crossed over his chest, and brows furrowed, like he’s trying his best to draw up the scene. “I still can’t remember an unusual smell… maybe a vaguely musty scent in the air?” He shrugs, not thinking it’s of significance.

A line of tension disappears from Jaehyun’s forehead. “I knew what the poison was. It’s common enough amongst its symptoms. I just can’t understand why he’s not awake, still. There wasn’t significant head trauma to explain it…” Jaehyun looks at Doyoung, and he has to remind himself to focus on the words that he’s saying.

“John— _Johnny—_ was poisoned, possibly by a potion containing nightshade made airborne, but the scene doesn’t play out like someone simply poisoning Johnny and leaving. You don’t blow up a world heritage site to draw attention to someone you’re trying to kill.”

Doyoung frowns, “No one would have a reason to want to kill Johnny anyway. He’d never hurt anyone and everyone loves him. Nothing about any of this makes sense.” It seems to be a reoccurring theme to Doyoungs life.

“I wish I could have seen the scene.” Jaehyun murmurs, under his breath. And Doyoung stops himself from offering his memories up to a complete stranger because he seems _warm_. He has to shake himself out of it, again.

“You said you work with Mungos, maybe I saw you when I visited Johnny?” Doyoung moves the conversation back to something else.

“Oh. No, you wouldn’t have seen me, I work in the research lab at the university.” Jaehyun smiles, shyly.

Doyoung remembers there’s tea, so he drinks. Jaehyun does the same.

“I want to help you. You and Johnny. I know the ministry is working against you. I also know the ministry is working in conjunction with the university on this case. Mungo’s is impartial, but I want to help you. They have no reason to suspect you.” Jaehyun has to stop himself from rambling.

“Why?” Doyoung stares at him in confusion.

“Because I just know you didn’t do this to your best friend.”

Doyoung contemplates for a moment, and goes with his gut. “You can see my memory. We have to find a pensieve though.”

**Author's Note:**

> It's a short and possibly confusing first chapter, but I promise most of the vagueness will be cleared up soon! Thank you for giving this a chance and reading!


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